Pre-Publication Hints and Tips: SEO and Discoverability

Having an active online presence is great, but it doesn’t mean much without the magic acronym SEO--search engine optimization. SEO essentially means discoverability: getting your writing to the top pages of Google with optimized keywords, quick and snappy meta-descriptions, and engaging content that results in returning readers.

Without some thought put into SEO as an author, your thoughtfully crafted blogs and articles could be met with a resounding chorus of crickets. Taking a few simple steps to maximize your SEO can help boost your visibility as an author and drive traffic to your books and outside writing.

First and foremost, the title of your blog or article needs to clear, concise, and feature the exact subject you’re going to be writing about. If your piece of writing is all about angry zombie hoards in the North-West of England, it’s best to include words like “zombie”, “brains”, and “Manchester” in the title; otherwise your writing won’t be searchable or stand-out among the crowd. You’ll also need to include these keywords throughout your writing and in the meta-description of your post; it may seem redundant to keep repeating them, but online algorithms work on repetition.

Making your website or writing as shareable as possible will also boost your discoverability. If you write about a certain author you really like, make sure to tag the author in the post to increase shareability. If they like what you’ve written, you’ve just increased your visibility many-fold when they share your website with their fans.

Eventually SEO will become a habit. As you learn what keywords work best and how to use them most effectively, your view counts and fanbase will grow accordingly.